Mexico weekly ledger., 1887-12-29
Seals far letter.

The materials Impressed by seals
have been nearly as varied ~ the
shapes af tho sigaets ifapFesslag thena,
Gold. silver. aud ether metals we're
aaelently In use. anl even prepared
earth or ulayS Caantaa wax was, ai
course, NEST prevalent befaFe the sns
trodaetssa of soaiIngrwax. u -eaia
pound of lac aud either materials tA'
vented in the slxseeath century,
White wax VAS used by usho 1, ot
Germany aud by many English meh.
archs. Rufus, however, very appto~
priately adopted red, kiae Is the
rarest of tints; green was favored by
the emperors and patriaeohs ef sha
east. At present yee.nlliian wax IL
the most common. but should the
method of scaling letters be revived
we may expect, with tae resources ot
modern chemistry and the diversity at
modern tastes, polyehrematse range
of hues uaknowa TO foesaer ages,
The first seals consisted of ring
that was affixed to clay or hale. or
later to chalk or creta astatiea. u mix.
ture of pitch. wax and plaster, The
use of wax did not become general till
the middle ayes. Bees~waS. rendered
yellow by time. was the first material
used. Then came sessing-wax mixed
with a white substance. Red wax he-
gan with Louis VI. in Ills, aud green
wax made its appearance about the
year 116S. In the thirteenth century
yellow, brown, rose, black, aud hsua
were added te the foregoing eolerA
Black wax is n rasety met with in itsa
seals of the military and religious
orders.
Goethe. after his retarn from Italy
almost always sealed his letters WITH
an antique head. such rs that of So
crates, Minerva, or Media. The as
tronomer Laianda's seal had ship
engraved upon it, and Meveebeer's
mad Tyre, with the legend; Always
| in Tune" Victor Hugo had very
simple seal. At the sale of his effects
Arsene Houssaye brought seal with
the initials V. H., SO arranged that
| when inverted they formed the cipher
A. III.
The biggest seal belongs tn America.
and was presented To President Pierce
by some citizens of Sau Francisco.
Upon this was represented a kind of
summary of Californian history and 3
| number of devices. such as a grizzly
bear and an enraged boa. Without il
was engraved the presidents name.
and in its interior parts were small
tases containing specimens of various
| native ores. The weight of this pre-
cious gift was something like a pound.
The early Christian nsed the sacred
devices of the dove. the fish. the
anchor, and the Tyre, and the monks
| of Durham, becoming possessed of i
seal on which was figured the head oi
Jupiter Tonans, had engraved beneath
it the name of good King Oswald,
thus sanctIfying it to the uses of the
| church.
Among the ancients ring seals were
used not only for sealing letters. bu!
also, as small locks were not common,
| for sealing caskets and chests that
contained valuable objects; and they
were even employed for sealing the
doors of houses and apartments.
Shaksperes signet has his initials.
ssW. ST." and q true lovers. kaot-a
device which has led to TIE supposi-
| ton that it was given to him by Anne
Hathaway.
Mary, queen of Scots had a seal
| with the arms of the three Kingdoms
upon it, and the use of tais formed a
count in the Indictment against her.
The seals of Sennacher;b and Cheop:
are still extant, together WITH 3 multi
tude of ancient s.gnets both Of shs
| east and the west.
Tn EnsTIanI bnf,,rp yv.tas.i,s 1,7,.s
worn, the seal was attaune,! to sns
wrist, forming, in fact. Il pendant; Eo 9
| bracelet.